Designing a governance framework for a new public sector program

The situation

A large, federal government department charged with implementing a new environmental scheme sought to put into place a governance framework to support the proper, day-to-day management of the scheme.

The challenge

Expecting a future audit of the implementation and operation of the scheme, the department was eager to ensure its governance arrangements aligned with better practice.

The framework to be designed by Grosvenor was to provide a practical foundation for achieving the highest standards of probity and accountability, as expected of the department by the public.

The project

Grosvenor developed a practical Probity & Governance framework including guidelines that addressed three essential elements of good governance including:

• Performance – to contribute to meeting the required outcomes including the overall performance and delivery of the scheme
• Conformance – to demonstrate probity and compliance with the requirements of applicable legislation, regulations, standards and community expectations throughout the delivery of the scheme
• Risk Management – to identify probity risks, resulting from the probity risk analysis, existing controls as well as recommendations on treatment strategies that were utilised to develop and implement the scheme.

The results

The project highlighted not only the importance of effective, efficient and ethical governance arrangements but also the difficulty and effort involved in ensuring governance and probity principles are applied when implementing and managing a new program.

The probity and governance policies and procedures were designed by Grosvenor to withstand public scrutiny and preserve the public’s confidence in the Australian Public Service’s capability and integrity, as well as employees’ satisfaction levels.

Grosvenor’s recommended framework was fully implemented, supporting achievement of the scheme’s objectives.